Sports Illustrated curvy model talks body image struggle

Sports Illustrated Mia Kang recently opened-up about her struggle with an unhealthy body image. The British-South Korean beauty is what the fashion industry calls a curvy model and she is done having a problem with her size.

According to nutritionists, Mia Kang has the body size of a healthy woman, but not the measurements that are wanted on the runway. “I’m a size 4-6, I’m sane and healthy”, says the 28-year-old curvy model. And, more importantly, “I have self-confidence for the first time in my life”.

The curvy model talked to Yahoo Style about her poor self-esteem, which haunted her childhood years. She reveals that she was a heavy kid and, for that, she was bullied. As a result, she went from on extreme to the other: “When I was 13, I cut my weight in half” Kahn says, explaining that she developed an eating disorder. She said she was starving herself. Not long after, she was discovered by a modelling agency.

The image of a model turned things upside down for her: “The boys who bullied me asked me out on dates.”

Kang added that it was not only the bullying that made her shed the pounds, but also the risk for diabetes, that the doctors have warned her about. And since she lacked the knowledge to lose weight in a healthy manner, she thought the quickest way would also be the best.

After losing 94 pounds, Mia was skinny and terribly unhealthy, on both a physical and a psychological level: “It left me riddled with psychological issues I’ll have for the rest of my life.” . She admits she hated herself and adds: “I wish I had embraced my differences and enjoyed life a little more.”

It is never too late to do that and this moment has come, for Kang, with the photo shoot for Sports Illustrated, who confirmed to her that she was indeed, attractive, despite the differences that she thought in the past made her unwanted, unloved and unaccepted.